Ceres, Inc.
| Company type | Public (Acquired by Land O'Lakes) |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: CERE | |
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Richard Hamilton (President and CEO) |
| Products | Seeds of energy crops |
| Subsidiaries | Ceres Sementes do Brasil |
| Website | ceres |
Ceres, Inc. was a biotechnology company based in Thousand Oaks, California, United States that operated from 1996 to 2016, when it was acquired by Land O'Lakes. The company was a spinoff from UCLA researchers. Its ultimate commercial products were seeds of genetically modified crops used for biofuel production.[1][2] In addition to its operations in the United States, Ceres had a subsidiary in Brazil called Ceres Sementes do Brasil.[3]
History
The company was founded in 1996 by UCLA professor Bob Goldberg and corporate partners with an initial capital of $50 million and an off-campus laboratory site overlooking Malibu, CA.[4] Richard Flavell was Chief Scientific Officer from 1998 until the 2012 public offering.[5] From its 2012 initial public offering that raised $65 million until its acquisition, it was listed on the NASDAQ exchange.[6][1][7] In 2012, the largest shareholders were Artal Luxembourg, Warburg Pincus, Ambergate Trust, and Oxford Bioscience, while biotechnology company Monsanto had 4.8% stake.[1] The company's president and CEO was Richard Hamilton.[8]
On June 21, 2016, Ceres was acquired by Land O'Lakes for $17.2 million.[9]
Products and research
Ceres sold sweet sorghum, switchgrass and high biomass sorghum seeds,[1] starting in 2009.[10] It tested biofuel production from switchgrass and miscanthus.[7] In 2010, Ceres started to cooperate with Novozymes to improve the enzyme cocktails for biorefinery switchgrass and sweet sorghum.[11] USAID funded Ceres' research on biotech traits and trait stacks in rice for Asia.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d Herndon, Andrew (2012-02-22). "Ceres Rises on First Trading Day for Biofuels Crop Company". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
- ^ Shah, Aman (2012-01-25). "Ceres Inc sees IPO priced at $21-$23/share". Reuters. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
- ^ "Ceres to seed sorghum in Brazil". Ethanol Producer Magazine. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
- ^ JACOBS, PAUL (1999-12-31). "A Few Rush to Exploit New Biotech Crops". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- ^ https://csimarket.com/stocks/CERE-Officers-Directors.html
- ^ "Ceres Announces Fiscal Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results". 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- ^ a b Dickerson, Marla (2012-01-25). "California biofuel firm Ceres plans public offering". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
- ^ "Ceres Unveils Switchgrass Seed Brand for Cellulosic Feedstock". Sustainable Business. 2008-01-05. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
- ^ "Land O'Lakes Acquires Ag Biotech Developer Ceres Inc". hayandforage.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ Ann Hinch for Farmworld Online May 7 2008 Genome firm will sell biomass seeds for ’09 growing season
- ^ Zimmerman, Cindy (2010-05-20). "Novozymes and Ceres Partner on Biofuel Crops". Domestic Fuel. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
- ^ "Energy crop company Ceres receives additional $3.5M from USAID for trait stacks for rice". Green Car Congress. 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
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